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February 4, 2019 | 10 Comments

Black History Month – Preschool Lesson Plan

February is Black History Month, and while I firmly believe that Black history is American history and deserves to be taught all 12 months of the year, I also think it’s worthwhile to shine an extra light on it during this month because for so long it was completely left in the dark. Now teaching history in preschool is tough, because history is complicated and you want to do it justice. Black history is a huge topic with so many stories, and many preschool teachers wonder how we can teach anything without teaching everything. Much of what I do as a preschool teacher is to break down big ideas and skills into achievable ones for my students. I decided that’s exactly how I was going to tackle this too. My students may be too young to comprehend complicated historical events, but as I was researching I decided that my class would love to learn about Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the modern traffic light!

black history month resources for preschool

For a much more comprehensive Black history curriculum check out this one from Mamademics. 

Prep

I used Biography.com to get the basic facts about Garrett Morgan.

Print off a picture of Garrett Morgan or use a tablet or smart board to share this image.

Printable for Black history month activity

Print the traffic light printable –> click here for your free printable. 

Place both on your board or someplace all the children can easily see them.

Make space in your room so you can play a short game of red light green light. If you don’t have space for walking do it on the spot with jogging on the spot at circle time.

 

Circle Time Activity

After your welcome routine point to the traffic light ask the children if they know what that is on the board. What does red mean? What about green? And yellow?

Yes, green means go, red means stop, and yellow means slow down!

Tell the kids that this man Garrett Morgan ( holding or pointing to the picture of Garrett Morgan) invented the traffic light, it used to only have a red and green light, but he added the yellow. Mr. Morgan was born 141 years ago, way before their grandparents. People were very unkind and unfair to him because he had dark skin.  Name that as racism, and condemn it. He had to work extra hard to get jobs and make people listen to his ideas. It’s a good thing he didn’t give up because his ideas were very important!  With older children go into more detail about how even though slavery is over there were many laws in place all over the United States that made and still make it much harder for Black men and women to be successful in business, to get an education, and housing.

 

 

Ask them if they would like to play a little game.

 

Children of multiple races holding hands

First, play red light green light pointing at the colors on your printable traffic light without calling/ pointing out any yellow. Ask the children if it is easy to stop when they are going so fast?

Now, play with yellow between the green and the red. Was that easier? Yes, and when you are driving in a car it helps too. When you know you need to stop you have more time to slow down and stop safely. Thanks to Garrett Morgan we are all much safer on the roads.

What I love so much about using this game for this lesson is that we play this game throughout the year and now I can remind my students about Garrett Morgan and his great invention more often.

Traffic Light Craft

 

craft for boys for black history month

 

Ripped Paper Traffic Lights  <— click here for the step by step instructions!

 

Even more Black History Month resources:

This post contains affiliate links.

Dream Big Little One Book Cover

A great board book for Black History Month ( and every day all year round) that I just bought and will be adding to my classroom is Dream Big Little One by Vashti Harrison. 

 

Underground Railroad Quilt Project  ( perfect for Prek and up)  this goes beautifully with this book:

Most Loved in All the World Book Cover

Most Loved in All the World by Tonya Cherie Hegamin moved me so much when I read it that I am in tears just reviewing it. It’s heartbreaking in its bravery. The story is about a mother who is part of the underground railroad and prepares her daughter for a journey to freedom, without her. When my son and I read this together after reading about the underground railroad he fully grasped the implications that the mother sacrificed her safety for her daughter’s freedom. There weren’t too many dry eyes that bedtime. Even though this is a picture book I think it’s really for the 5-8-year-old crowd who can get the deeper meanings and historical significance.

African American History Books for Kids – from What Do We Do All Day

Black History Biographies from Kid World Citizen

Black History IS American History Curriculum from Mamademics.com

 

free lesson plans for preschool

 

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Kindergarten, Black History Month, Preschool Activities | 10 Comments

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10 Comments

  1. Kimber says

    February 22, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    Thank you so much for this post filled with great insight and age appropriate activities and lessons. I look forward to doing this next week with my preschoolers

    to Kimber" aria-label='reply to this comment to Kimber'>reply to this comment
  2. Monica says

    May 15, 2019 at 9:33 am

    Great activities! It is possible to teach black history to the little ones in an age appropriate manner. Pre-school kids are ready for introductions. Attached is a link to an animated video, teaching about Mr. Morgan through visual and song that compliments the activities you’ve shared. https://youtu.be/MBAJmkJh218

    to Monica" aria-label='reply to this comment to Monica'>reply to this comment
  3. Denise LawsonElam says

    February 23, 2020 at 5:11 am

    I am grateful for your support of Black History and including the information and concepts throughout the year. Garrett Morgan’s contribution is perfect for my class to remember. We have a stop light right outside our learning center!! I’ll definitely add him to February’s closing week. Thanks for the suggestion!!

    to Denise LawsonElam" aria-label='reply to this comment to Denise LawsonElam'>reply to this comment
  4. Arianna says

    February 23, 2020 at 8:00 am

    Thank you for these great ideas!

    to Arianna" aria-label='reply to this comment to Arianna'>reply to this comment
  5. Fileroom says

    August 2, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Great and informative Post. I loved the way your Blog is designed.

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  7. Nikki Coffee says

    January 23, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    I love the traffic light… ideas! I will certainly use. I appreciate you sharing this wealth of info with us and your students!

    to Nikki Coffee" aria-label='reply to this comment to Nikki Coffee'>reply to this comment
  8. Sofia says

    February 7, 2021 at 6:05 pm

    Thank you so very much!! I teach kindergarten and was looking for a wonderful idea for Black History month ❤️

    to Sofia" aria-label='reply to this comment to Sofia'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Black History Month – Preschool Lesson Plan – Kids Gifts says:
    February 4, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    […] post Black History Month – Preschool Lesson Plan appeared first on No Time For Flash […]

    to Black History Month – Preschool Lesson Plan – Kids Gifts" aria-label='reply to this comment to Black History Month – Preschool Lesson Plan – Kids Gifts'>reply to this comment
  2. Fun February Activities and Books for Kids - Positively Mel % says:
    February 4, 2021 at 8:42 am

    […] Black Inventors: I am so excited to try out these activities from No Time For Flash Cards.- and it will pair perfectly with our new book, Have You Thanked an Inventor […]

    to Fun February Activities and Books for Kids - Positively Mel %" aria-label='reply to this comment to Fun February Activities and Books for Kids - Positively Mel %'>reply to this comment

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